James Monroe Signed Missouri Territory Land Grant to War of 1812 Veteran

Click to enlarge:
Select an image:

Stephen Taylor is granted 160 acres for his service in the War of 1812. With a highly decorative engraved masthead, “Militi Forti Et Fideli,” of a seated Columbia handing a deed to a soldier and his young son.

JAMES MONROE.
Partly Printed Document Signed as President. Land grant to Stephen Taylor, countersigned by Josiah Meigs as Commissioner of the General Land Office. Washington, D.C., March 3, 1819, 1 p., 13 x 8½ in. On vellum. Verso with Stephen Taylor Manuscript Document Signed transferring the land to William Turner. April 22, 1819. With a collection of letters to William and Peter Turner of Newport, R.I., from 1821, 1840 and 1859, re. subsequent sales and payment on this land.

“Know Ye, That, in pursuance of the Acts of Congress appropriating and granting Land to the late Army of the United States, passed on and since the sixth day of May, 1812, Stephen Taylor, having deposited in the General Land Office a Warrant in his favour, numbered 20852 is granted unto the said Stephen Taylor late a Corporal in Towsons Corps of Light Artillery a certain Tract of Land, containing one hundred and Sixty Acres...”

James Monroe (1758-1831). Fifth President of the U.S. (1817-25). Born in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Served in Revolution, entered politics, U.S. Senator (1790-94) and governor of Virginia (179901802). In 1803, he helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase for President Jefferson. Monroe served as Madison’s Secretary of State (1811-17) and Secretary of War (1814-15). Elected President in 1816. Re-elected almost unanimously in 1820 with 231 out of 232 electoral votes. His (and his party’s) ascendancy was heralded as the “Era of Good Feelings.” His two terms are remembered for the recognition of the new Latin American republics and his Monroe Doctrine (written by John Quincy Adams). In his Annual Message of 1823, Monroe responded to European threats of encroachment on Latin American land by declaring that the American continents, “by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European Power.” Monroe could do little to back up these statements and it was not until the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt that this policy was given military muscle.

Josiah Meigs was President of Franklin College before becoming Commissioner of the General Land Office. He later was one of the original incorporators and trustees of Columbian College (now George Washington University), and a professor of experimental philosophy.

“While commanding relatively few artillery pieces, his batteries’ discharges were so numerous that his position during the Siege of Fort Erie became known as “Towson’s Lighthouse”. During the War of 1812, Nathan commanded artillery during many confrontations, including the Battle of Fort George, the Battle of Stoney Creek, the Battle of Queenston Heights, the Battle of Chippawa, the Battle of Lundy’s Lane, and the Siege of Fort Erie.”